UNDERWATER LOANS AND RENTS IN THE THOUSANDS
Canadian mortgage insurers are guaranteeing billions in loans for which borrowers increasingly owe more than the value of their property, Rachelle Younglai reports. Underwater loans refer to mortgages where the principal is higher than the market value of the home. A drop in home prices over the past year has chipped away at the equity in homeowners’ properties and a rising number of them now owe more than their homes are worth.
Four-figure rents for roommates
Rents above $1,000 for living with roommates are increasingly common not just in Toronto but across the country, reports Erica Alini. The average advertised rent for a spare bedroom in a home, condo or apartment in Vancouver was $1,410 in March. In Toronto, it was $1,309, and in Montreal $916.
In other urban centres such as Victoria, Calgary, Ottawa and Halifax, as well as several mid-sized cities in Southern Ontario, renting with roommates sets Canadians back $800 to $1,000 a month on average.
This week’s mortgage rates: The calm before the Fed
Short-term mortgage rates took a turn for the worse this week, writes Robert McLister. The lowest nationally-advertised uninsured two- and three-year fixed offers increased by 20 and 15 basis points, respectively. (One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.)
Expect a drop in new home construction, CMHC says
Canada’s housing agency forecasts that home building could plunge 32 per cent this year if inflation and interest remain high and add to the already rising cost of building materials and the current shortage in construction. Residential building costs are up almost 20 per cent over the past year, reports Younglai. The agency called the situation “alarming” given the housing affordability crisis already underway in the country.
Story by: The Globe and Mail
